THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
❘
/ SIUSLAWNEWS
❘
@ SIUSLAWNEWS
WEDNESDAY EDITION
WEDDING
GUIDE
SPECIAL EDITION
128TH YEAR ❘ ISSUE NO. 9
❘ JANUARY 31, 2018 ❘ $1.00
LADY VIKS
Mapleton
School Board TAKE DISTRICT
Spotlight
SPORTS — B
SCHOOLS — INSIDE
SERVING WESTERN LANE COUNTY SINCE 1890
FLORENCE, OREGON
M OBILE I NTEGRATED H EALTHCARE COMES TO S IUSLAW REGION
PeaceHealth, WLAD pilot program could
help revolutionize healthcare in region
Western Lane Ambulance District
(WLAD), in partnership with
PeaceHealth
B Y J ARED A NDERSON S i u s l a w
Siuslaw News
Region, is look-
ing to change
how healthcare is administered in
western Lane County.
Through a $200,000 donation
from the PeaceHealth Peace Harbor
Medical Center foundation, the
organizations have created a new
Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH)
program that will help reduce the
rates of emergency room returns in
the region, and, in the process, save
the quality of life for hundreds of
residents — with the potential to
save millions of dollars.
Managed by WLAD Operations
Manager Matt House, and staffed by
Chris Martin, who came from anoth-
er MIH program in South Carolina,
the initiative is a two-year pilot pro-
gram that will eventually be rolled
out throughout Lane County.
“We manage the operations of the
MIH Program, and PeaceHealth
identifies patients and provides com-
puter software such as the Epic
Program,” House said. “The goal is
to bridge the gaps of community
patient care needs.”
As of right now, MIH provides in-
home services to three types of
patients: 30-day readmissions, emer-
gency room (ER) high utilizers and
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
high users. Other types of users may
be identified as the program pro-
gresses.
“These are all patients that are
referred to the hospital system that
have been deemed ‘high risk’ of
falling back into the emergency
department several times for follow
up,” House explained.
For example, a patient is diag-
nosed with congestive heart failure,
which is exacerbated by not taking
their medications correctly or not
eating the right meals.
“So, they go back home and into
their own habits,” House said.
“They’re eating a salty steak diet,
and not taking their medications on
top of it. They become exacerbated,
call 911 and the whole process starts
over again. So the whole goal is try-
ing to prevent these patients from
falling back into the system.”
Patients may return to their
habits for multiple reasons. During
the stress of an emergency room
visit, specific instructions by a doc-
tor can be missed or misinterpreted.
In other cases, environmental factors
at homes can make it difficult to
make healthier choices. In addition,
old habits simply can be hard to
break.
See
HEALTHCARE 7A
City applies for
state Workforce
Housing Initiative
Resident speaks about need
for workforce training under
new development plans
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
St ic ke r sh oc k
Florence Police wrap School Resource vehicle with custom sticker kit
PHOTOS COURTESY FLORENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Siuslaw School District and Florence Police Department’s School Resource Officer now has an officially designated vehicle.
“We wanted this vehicle to
be distinctly different from the
fleet patrol vehicles, and some-
thing that would appeal to the
tarting earlier this
kids,” Ott said.
month, Florence Police
Bailey worked with the
Department
(FPD)
graphics company that does
Officer Brandon Bailey offi-
the department’s patrol vehi-
cially took over the duties of
cles and came up with the
the School Resource Officer
design, which incorporates
(SRO) for Siuslaw School
some digital camouflage, an
District. Sgt. Brandon Ott has
been covering the SRO duties School Resource Officer Brandon Bailey with his updated “wheels.” American flag and the Siuslaw
Vikings logo. The school dis-
since the beginning of the
school year due to staffing levels within the
In addition, FPD unveiled a new look for trict was also included in the design process.
department. Both officers will be present in an older department vehicle now designated
the schools through the transition.
for the school program.
See VEHICLE 7A
B Y C HANTELLE M EYER
Siuslaw News
S
Florence resident sentenced in aggravated theft case
B Y N ED H ICKSON
Siuslaw News
INSIDE
During a hearing held last
Thursday, Jan. 25, in Eugene,
Christy Lynn Bursaw, 44, of
Florence, was sentenced to 20
days in the Lane County Jail and
given four years of supervised
probation.
The sentencing was a follow-
up to the Oct. 25, 2017, arraign-
ment of Bursaw on felony charges
of aggravated first-degree theft
that occurred over the course of
18 months as a bookkeeper at the
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Community . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Kid Scoop . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Library Tidings . . . . . . . . . . .
B6
A3
B3
A5
Driftwood Shores Resort and
Convention Center.
According to Driftwood Shores
General
Manager
Martin
Alletson, who initiated the inves-
tigation after compiling financial
information and contacting the
Florence Police Department,
Bursaw had been stealing tips
from employees of the resort’s
Surfside Restaurant by changing
paperwork reflecting tip amounts
intended for its servers.
Florence Police Sgt. Brandon
Ott, who conducted the official
investigation, confirmed that
Opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A4
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A2
School Zone . . . . . . . . . Inside
Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B
Bursaw had an ongoing enterprise
that began soon after she was
hired.
The money, which was estimat-
ed to be more than $17,000 taken
from 54 different employees, was
later replaced by Driftwood
Shores and given back to the
appropriate restaurant staff by
using financial information to
identify which employees had
been stolen from, and how much
each had lost.
“We worked closely with the
police and gave them all the back-
up data to show exactly what was
THIS WEEK ’ S
taken, how much and who it was
taken from,” said Alletson.
At the close of his investiga-
tion, Ott submitted an affidavit to
the Lane County District
Attorney’s Office, stating that
Bursaw had initially denied
wrongdoing but eventually admit-
ted to the theft and apologized for
her actions.
The investigation and affidavit
submitted by Ott led to formal
charges resulting in last week’s
sentencing.
See
TODAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
51 43
53 48
55 47
57 47
WEATHER
Full Forecast, A3
At the Jan. 22 Florence City Council meet-
ing, the four currently seated councilors voted
to approve a submission for a Workforce
Housing Initiative to the State of Oregon
Housing and Community Services’ request for
applications. The submission was turned in
before the application period ended Jan. 25.
City Recorder Kelli Weese presented the
materials to the council.
“The State of Oregon, through the
Governor’s Office, has put together a request
for applications to help support workforce
housing initiatives in the state, which is anoth-
er way of saying ‘grant,’” Weese said. “They
are looking for pilot programs that will help
support housing initiatives in Oregon that can
be replicated throughout the state.”
According to Weese, Oregon Housing and
Community Services is seeking four or five
pilot projects that it can then fund for any-
where from $100,000 to $300,000 per project.
The projects are supposed to be innovative
and show new ways to account for affordable
and workforce housing.
“Of course we want to apply to this, since
workforce housing is an obvious need for
Florence,” Weese said.
City Manager Erin Reynolds said the state
is defining “workforce housing” as house-
holds within 60 to 120 percent of the average
median income of the county.
According to Data USA, Lane County has a
median household income of $47,318. Sixty
percent of that would be $28,391 and 120 per-
cent of that would be $56,782.
“There are quite a few programs and a lot
of work done at the state and federal level to
meet the requirements of households below
that 60 percent,” Reynolds said. “This is very
new for the State of Oregon to be participat-
ing in workforce housing. In this work and
hearing the cry from communities of the
housing crises in Oregon and the Pacific
Northwest, the state would like to find a way
to help meet this needed housing.”
She added, “Just as much as we’re being
asked to be innovative in our approach, the
state is being innovative in its approach to
meeting the needed housing for the workforce
in Oregon. We’re on the cutting edge.”
The City of Florence is applying for two
separate tracks under the initiative.
The first seeks to develop a specific site on
15th Street and Airport Road for workforce
housing with the help of regional partners.
This is city-owned property that previously
housed the Florence Senior Center and is the
current site of the Florence First Harvest
Community Garden.
THEFT 6A
S IUSLAW N EWS
3 S ECTIONS ❘ 18 P AGES
C OPYRIGHT 2018
See
HOUSING 6A